Vintage Burmese Red Lacquered Wood Hsun Ok Offering Vessel. Traditional spired shape with a separation in the middle to take the tall lid off. 

Condition: Commensurate with age. 

Size: 9 x 9 x 20 1/2 in. 

Yun-de is the name for Burmese lacquerware, and the artform is called Pan yun. The lacquer is the sap tapped from the varnish tree or Thitsee (Gluta usitata) that grows wild in the forests of Myanmar. It is straw-colored but turns black on exposure to air. When brushed in or coated on, it forms a hard glossy smooth surface resistant to a degree from the effects of exposure to moisture or heat. The earliest fragments of lacquerware basketry found in Bagan dates back to the 13th Century. Bayinnaung’s conquest and subjugation in 1555 to 1562 of Manipur, Bhamo, Zinme (Chiang Mai), Linzin (Lan Xang), and up the Taping and Shweli rivers in the direction of Yunnan brought back large numbers of skilled craftsmen into Burma. It is thought that the finer sort of Burmese lacquerware, called Yun, was introduced during this period by imported artisans belonging to the Yun or Northern Thai people of the Chiang Mai region. One of the most commonly seen pieces of Burmese lacquerware is the hsun ok, a ceremonial container used for carrying food and other offerings to the monastery or for displaying on altar tables within temples. An important part of both Buddhist rituals and the everyday dinner table throughout the country, there are multiple variations in size, such as the shallow lahpet ok and stackable ones called hsun gyaink. Many are passed down as heirlooms from generation to generation.

Commensurate with age.